• Airtel Uganda, Prudential Assurance Uganda Limited, and Turaco Insurance Brokers Ltd have partnered to provide health insurance.

• The aim is to ease financial burdens that have to do with hospital admissions and bereavement.

• The policy is eligible for customers aged between 18 and 65 years and with active Airtel mobile money numbers.

Telecommunications provider, Airtel Uganda has partnered with Prudential Assurance Uganda Limited and insure-tech, Turaco Insurance Brokers Ltd to provide a health insurance product dubbed ‘Hospital Sente.’

Rolled under Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL) through Airtel Money, ‘Hospital Sente’ is a low-cost hospital cash insurance cover product with funeral benefits aimed at increasing access to insurance for underserved communities and low-income individuals and families. 

The aim of this cover is to ease Airtel customers’ financial burden that has to do with hospital admissions and bereavement. The insurance offers beneficiaries a cash payout if they get hospitalized.

Turaco is a startup that provides fast, simple, and inclusive insurance solutions for emerging markets and is a distributor, broker, and key customer interface between the underwriter and the consumer. Turaco achieves this by forming partnerships with leading tech-enabled companies with a large pool of emerging market consumers.

Hamza Mutebi, the general manager of Turaco Ltd as regards the insurance said, “We are excited to launch this partnership to offer this innovative and affordable insurance product to our customers. We believe that this partnership will help increase access to insurance for low-income households and help protect families against unexpected events. Most Ugandans today remain unreached by mainstream insurance, all while being the most vulnerable to financial shocks caused by illness, accidents, and death. Strategic partnerships like these remain critical to enabling underserved Ugandans access to affordable insurance that provides a safety net in their times of need and ultimately peace of mind.”

Bernard Obel, the director of supervision from the Insurance Regulation Authority (IRA) welcomed the policy, saying that innovations such as this are important and drive the agenda of increasing the uptake of insurance in the market and additionally deepening financial inclusion for sustainable social economic growth. “As a regulator, we continue to encourage insurance providers to embrace innovations in order to increase uptake and access to insurance services by Ugandans. This product has been reviewed and approved by IRA to be offered in the country,” he said.  

The policy is eligible to customers aged between 18 and 65 years and with active Airtel mobile money numbers and can be accessed via mobile phones and claims received through mobile money.